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WASILLA — Katya Dahl was only one-half credit away from graduating with her Wasilla High School Class of 2009 when a failing grade in U.S. Government almost cost her a promising future.

Adopted with her older brother from a Russian orphanage near Moscow at age 13 by Wasilla High teacher Lisa Dahl, she first had to learn a new culture and a new language while trying to keep up with classmates.

“It was pretty hard for her at first,” Dahl said of Katya, now 20. “But I’m so proud of her for going back to school under the AdvancePath program and being the first to graduate in it. I got pretty choked up at her graduation ceremony in December.”

Dahl, who is now attending Charter College (www.chartercollege.edu) in its medical assistant program and dreams of one day becoming a registered nurse, is one of two Mat-Su Borough School District students who have so far completed all their required high school credits through the district’s new AdvancePath Academics program, which now boasts 250 students.

Set up in special computer labs at American Charter Academy in Meadow Lakes, Wasilla High, and Valley Pathways in Palmer last October, the standards-based, student-driven program not only caters to students who have fallen behind in school for whatever reason, it provides an avenue for gifted students to speed ahead and graduate sooner than they otherwise would.

“It’s a really great program,” Katya said Monday with only a very slight Russian accent. “When I left school in 2009 without my diploma, I got a job at Sears and was trying to earn my credits through a correspondence course, but it was too hard. AdavancePath had teachers to help you and you could finish a class in only two or three weeks.”

So instead of being embarrassed by being one of the older students at Wasilla High, Katya was embraced by the other 85 students in the program there and teachers like Dan Hietela.

Hietela, an English teacher who had four years of experience teaching computer-based summer school classes, said that although there was quite a learning curve for teachers and students when AdvancePath first began, Hietela said he loves that the program allows for more one-on-one time with students, enables students to go at their own pace and is successful at keeping them more focused than some of them would be in a traditional classroom.

“We’re able to build those relationships better than in a regular classroom setting,” said Hietela, who has been teaching at WHS for the past five years. “And for students who aren’t used to being successful in a regular classroom, this gives them instant success because they have to get at least an 80 percent to pass a quiz and they’re motivated to pass them as quickly as possible. That’s huge.”

One of Hietela’s students, 18-year-old Ben Carden, called the program “amazing.” He said he had trouble in teacher-based classrooms where everyone was expected to move at the same pace. Plus, he likes that much of his learning is through computers while also allowing for teacher guidance and small group discussions.

“The staff helps you keep moving forward, so it’s a great opportunity for those who need that kind of a lifeline,” Carden said Monday from his AdvancePath classroom. “If it weren’t for this program, it definitely would have been a lot harder to catch up.”

It’s now easier for him to envision himself realizing his dream of becoming a computer technician, he said.

At American Charter Academy near the corner of Pittman Road and the Parks Highway, almost the entire second floor of the building is dedicated to AdvancePath and its approximately 100 students from grades 10-12.

Unlike the programs at the district’s other two schools, all students in those grades were automatically enrolled in the program as part of the charter school curriculum, ACA Principal Becky Huggins explained Friday during a site visit.

The school was formerly known as Mid-Valley High and was one of the district’s struggling alternative schools that was converted to a charter school this past year after failing to make annual yearly progress goals mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind law.

“We’re really having major successes here already,” Huggins said as students worked intently in 60 computer cubicles and a few received individual attention from teachers on everything from algebra and physics to Walt Whitman and American history. “I really couldn’t be any more excited.”

Unlike in regular classrooms, or even more computer-oriented programs such as Plato, AdvancePath Academics allows teachers to immediately know when students are getting off task or need help by alerting them on their own computers when there is an issue. Students at American Charter also can ask for help by quietly placing a small American flag in a peg at the top of their cubicle.

For five students who stopped to chat about the program at American Charter Friday, the program took a little getting used to in the beginning.

“I hated it at first,” Alyssa Wells-Rowland, 17, said. “I wasn’t used to being by myself and being so quiet. But I’ve gotten used to it now and am able to be more focused with my work. I can work at my own pace and I like that we have small group sessions so we can discuss stuff together.”

They also weren’t sure of having to punch an actual time card in a time clock when they arrive in the room. Although meant to give students a feel for the working world, it ends up costing time when students have to stand in line to punch in, they said.

Twins Chelsey and Chance Barnes, 17-year-old seniors, said they like that they can work toward completing school faster than they otherwise would have. Both of them were awarded $11,000 UAA scholarships for being among the district’s top students last year.

“I can get a lot more done now,” said Chance, who wants to be a fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force. “I’d say it’s working pretty well for me.”

Contact K.T. McKee at kate.mckee@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.